A 13-year-old Cape Breton boy has created his own line of snowboarding apparel.
“I was just drawing in school,” Aidan Hanson said. “I drew a Creamsicle and I thought it looked really cool, so I just used it for the logo.”
That initial idea has now evolved into Kreamsicle, a line of clothing that includes everything from T-shirts to hoodies to hats. While Hanson designed Kreamsicle’s logo and website himself, he also hired a designer to transform his apparel ideas into reality. But Aidan’sresponsible for making sure orders get in and customers are happy.
Aidan says seeing kids at his own school wear his products is his greatest reward.
“That’s the best part about it,” he said. “That was my goal from the start, because I always just wanted to see people wearing my own stuff -- and now I do.”
Aidan says sales started skyrocketing after the clothing was worn by Finnish professional snowboarder Mikko Rehnberg.
"I was just ready to get the product out and I wanted to find someone who could wear it, so I just kept asking and asking snowboarders, and (Rehnberg) was the one who responded,” said Aidan. “I said, ‘Do you want some free stuff?’ And he said, ‘Sure.’ And now he’s been wearing it in his videos and winning contests with it and stuff.”
While the teenager still does not know where his future will take him, he does know that the entrepreneurial skills he’s developed will help.
“I’ll use it a lot later in life, ‘cause I’ll know all the stuff about business, like how to make money, how to advertise,” he said. “So I’ll definitely have a couple of businesses when I grow up.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
